Author: Tom Franklin
Genre: Adult mystery
Pages: 272
Rating: 4 out of 5
Challenges: Reading from my shelves, Mystery and Suspense, TLC Book Tour
FTC Disclosure: I bought this book
Summary (from the inside flap of the book): In the late 1970s, Larry Ott and Silas "32" Jones were boyhood pals. Their worlds were as different as night and day: Larry, the child of lower-middle-class white parents, and Silas, the son of a poor, single black mother. Yet for a few months the boys stepped outside of their circumstances and shared a special bond. But then tragedy struck: Larry took a girl on a date to a drive-in movie, and she was never heard from again. She was never found and Larry never confessed, but all eyes rested on him as the culprit. The incident shook the county--and perhaps Silas most of all. His friendship with Larry was broken, and then Silas left town.
More than twenty years have passed. Larry, a mechanic, lives a solitary existence, never able to rise above the whispers of suspicion. Silas has returned as a constable. He and Larry have no reason to cross paths until another girl disappears and Larry is blamed again. And now the two men who once called each other friend are forced to confront the past they've buried and ignored for decades.
More than twenty years have passed. Larry, a mechanic, lives a solitary existence, never able to rise above the whispers of suspicion. Silas has returned as a constable. He and Larry have no reason to cross paths until another girl disappears and Larry is blamed again. And now the two men who once called each other friend are forced to confront the past they've buried and ignored for decades.
Review: I love a good mystery so was really pleased when Trish of TLC Tours suggested this one to me. I also liked the idea of reading a book set in Mississippi. I really liked the beginning of the book, got a bit annoyed in the middle and then really liked the ending. But, now that I've finished the book I like the middle better because I understand it. Does that make sense?
I realize that while I saw this as a mystery, which it is, it is also a character study. Both Larry and Silas are people that that the reader needs to get to know and the mystery is simply the background vehicle on which they ride. Yes there are multiple mysteries going on (disappearances, people getting shot, etc), but it is the interactions between these two main characters that are most important.
Larry has had a very tough life: abuse at the hands of his father; falsely accused of murder; ostracized by the town; a failing business and more. However, Larry doesn't really seem to fight for himself, perhaps he is too beaten down by the low expectations thrust upon him from an early age. What he wants is friendship, but what he gets is a Book of the Month Club.
Silas has worked hard his whole life to overcome poverty and race (remember, this is the rural deep south in the 1960s and '70s) and he is carrying a heavy burden (which I can't reveal). Now in a position of authority in town he feels like he has made it, but life and Larry keep getting in the way.
I really liked the reality of the friendship between these two men. They came from different circles, but are so similar that they are drawn to one another. They share a past and recently I've been thinking about how important that is in our relationships. If you'd like a read that has some mystery and good character study, than this is the one for you.
I realize that while I saw this as a mystery, which it is, it is also a character study. Both Larry and Silas are people that that the reader needs to get to know and the mystery is simply the background vehicle on which they ride. Yes there are multiple mysteries going on (disappearances, people getting shot, etc), but it is the interactions between these two main characters that are most important.
Larry has had a very tough life: abuse at the hands of his father; falsely accused of murder; ostracized by the town; a failing business and more. However, Larry doesn't really seem to fight for himself, perhaps he is too beaten down by the low expectations thrust upon him from an early age. What he wants is friendship, but what he gets is a Book of the Month Club.
Silas has worked hard his whole life to overcome poverty and race (remember, this is the rural deep south in the 1960s and '70s) and he is carrying a heavy burden (which I can't reveal). Now in a position of authority in town he feels like he has made it, but life and Larry keep getting in the way.
I really liked the reality of the friendship between these two men. They came from different circles, but are so similar that they are drawn to one another. They share a past and recently I've been thinking about how important that is in our relationships. If you'd like a read that has some mystery and good character study, than this is the one for you.
Geography Connection:
(photo credit for right photo)
Click to see my updated Google Map. This is my first book this year that is set in Mississippi! Life in Mississippi is just so very different from my own, especially when the setting is the 1960s. Growing up in southern California, the deep south seems very foreign to me.
